Layers of Nothings
by Madin312
Summary: A Nobody is created when a being with a strong heart is turned into a Heartless. For these three, their births as Nobodies was only the beginning of what was to come. And so, the hunt for the thirteenth vessel begins. Multi crossover. Rated T for mild violence and some language. Post KH3D.
1. Chapter 1 : Births

**Layers of Nothings**

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><p>Master Xehanort walked through a bright hall fully colored in white. Next to him, was a young man with features similar to him. The young man also had dark skin, just like the older man next to him. He was wearing a black hooded coat that reached down to his feet. Underneath the cloak, he was wearing a pair of black trousers which was tucked inside a pair of black boots and also a pair of black gloves. He was actually the older man's younger counterpart. They walked in silence as the sound of their footsteps echoed through the vacant hall.<p>

"We still need a thirteenth vessel," said the old master. The younger man looked at his older counterpart.

"Then where should we find one?" asked the younger Xehanort. Master Xehanort contemplated this for a moment, stopping in his tracks as he did so. The young Xehanort also stopped to wait for the old master. A dark smirk slowly emerged from his face. The younger Xehanort wondered what the master was thinking. Despite being the same person, it was astonishing just how different they were. The younger one certainly had no habit of waving his hands in an overdramatic fashion. And they certainly didn't really think the same way either.

The master chuckled darkly, "Instead of finding one, how about we act so one would be created?" Young Xehanort raised his eyebrows in interest.

"I'm listening…"

"It's quite simple really," continued Xehanort. "Let the Heartless devour the worlds just like they always do. There is a chance that an individual with a strong heart may be turned into a Heartless, and then, a Nobody will be born."

"But an individual such as this is really rare. It's like finding a needle in a haystack," said Young Xehanort. The master's smirk did not waver, however. Instead, it just seemed to grow even wider.

"Well, that's why we find individuals with exceedingly strong hearts, and point the Heartless to them." He continued to walk down the large hall. His younger counterpart soon followed in his wake. He now held a smirk on his face as well. He liked the plan. And it didn't seem to involve too much hassle. Ansem, Xehanort's Heartless could command the Heartlesses onto various worlds and the destruction of these worlds would also be used to create Kingdom Hearts.

The only problem was finding the excellent candidates.

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><p>They have watched a few worlds got overrun by Heartless. Unlike Ansem, who stood beside him, smirking while he watched people got taken by Heartless; Xemnas did not feel pleasure or remorse at what he did. He felt nothing. It was because he could not. Nobodies should be able to develop their own hearts over time, but it seemed Xemnas himself has not developed one. He wondered, what was required for a Nobody to develop hearts? Was there something he missed?<p>

He had already been informed of his past before becoming an apprentice of Ansem the Wise. But he still felt something missing. He still yearned for his… friends. Xehanort had said something about his body actually belonged to someone else before all this. Perhaps this body still yearned for its companions.

He could only remember their names. Aqua and Ven. He remembered that he had been close to the two of them. Very close. Almost like a brother and sister. He had attempted to search for them during his time as a Nobody. He did not know where "Aqua" was. But he knew that "Ven" was somewhere in Castle Oblivion. The boy was one of the reasons he chose the Castle as a second base.

He banished the thoughts from his head as he saw from the corner of his eyes that Ansem the Heartless has prepared a Corridor of Darkness for himself. It seemed that their task here was done. The Heartless will do their job. The both of them would move on to other worlds until a human form Nobody was produced.

Xemnas summoned a Corridor for himself and entered the swirling portal of darkness. As he put one foot into the portal, a name flashed across his mind. A name that felt so familiar yet so foreign to him.

_Terra…_

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><p><em>This is bad.<em>

The old retired Keblade Master sat on his chair as he watched a few stars went dark. It seemed that Xehanort has started to make his move. But he was not aware that they have acquired a thirteenth member.

Master Yen Sid stroked his long beard, trying to make sense of the move Xehanort has made. Ever since they were young, Xehanort never does things without a purpose. A trait he had both feared and admired. He knew that Xehanort had an affinity for Darkness and a curiosity that almost bordered on an unhealthy obsession. Eraqus had a harder time believing this. They were akin to brothers, after all. But Eraqus' obsession with the light had blinded him, and Xehanort's curiosity with Darkness had engulfed and corrupted him.

Yen Sid's eyes widened as he came into a realization. _So that's it!_ thought Yen Sid. _Such sinister but effective plan. He plans to make a human form Nobody and turn it into a vessel…_

Riku was going to come back to the tower in a matter of hours. He would need to be informed of this. The two apprentices under his wing should be told as well. They would be great help for Riku. And the mission would provide an excellent experience for them and Riku as well. It was time Riku took a responsibility of leading apprentices like a Master should.

That left only Sora. The boy had gone off on a journey to train himself. The last time he looked at the stars, the boy was somewhere in Radiant Garden, making use of the Organzation XIII data he had found some time ago. He wondered who made that room. It was certainly made for a training purpose. And from what he observed and also from the Restoration Committee's report, the room matched itself with the person in the room. Cloud had gotten a Data of Sephiroth instead of the Organization. The skills and abilities shown by the Data version was also as accurate as their real counterpart. It was interesting, but not the main concern in his mind.

He would leave the boy to his devices. Sora would return when he was ready.

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><p><strong>I replaced the first chapter because I thought the original was simply uninteresting. And it was. Anyway, for newcomers, welcome to the start of this story. I hope you enjoyed this short prologue. This story will be a multi crossover that will involve several franchises in and outside of Disney and Square Enix. <strong>

**And I do not own any characters or things from this story besides the story itself and a few OCs if there are any.**


	2. Chapter 2 : Meeting

**Layers of Nothings**

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><p>Kairi opened the door to the large tower she was currently living in along with Riku and Lea. It was a little weird at first. Calling him Lea when they had known him as Axel. After a while, the former Nobody had taken all mistakes towards his name in stride. He was obviously tired of correcting people all the time.<p>

Kairi walked up the stairs to Master Yen Sid's office. The tower was surprisingly big even though it looked rather small from the outside. It had a few guest rooms and a large bathroom. Must be all the magic stuffs. It was way beyond her understanding and she won't complain. She liked the place. It was not home, but she liked it nonetheless.

She walked to the old master's door and knocked lightly. A muffled confirmation was heard through the door and Kairi slowly opened the wooden door. Inside, she saw Lea with his keyblade. He had progressed a lot in just a few months. He was now able to summon the weapon at will. Perhaps it had something to do with the amount of combat experience he had. He had a prideful expression on his face and he was smiling at his success. He turned his head back at the sound of the door closing.

"Kairi!" he exclaimed. "Where were you? I was about to look for you. Didn't you get today's memo memorized?"

"I did. Can't a girl get a time for herself here?" asked Kairi. Though she sounded annoyed, her face held a small smile meaning that she wasn't serious. Lea just chuckled. Their small talk was interrupted by Yen Sid clearing his throat. The retired Keyblade Master was sitting on his desk as usual. And his face held a rather grim and serious expression. Lea wondered if the old master ever smiled. He also wondered if the Master had any childhood photos. He wanted to see if the grim and intimidating expression was already there back then. He kept his amusements to himself. Yen Sid obviously had something important to tell them if he had called the two of them for any other reason than training.

"Good," said Yen Sid. "The two of you are here. I have some important things to tell you two." Yen Sid folded his hands under his bearded chin as he spoke to the two Keyblade Apprentices. They stayed silent, waiting for the news about to be unfolded to them.

"I have seen the stars…" said Yen Sid. "And I saw an interesting thing." Lea and Kairi raised their eyebrows, obviously interested. "Some worlds have been attacked by Heartless. It seems that Xehanort has started to make his moves…"

Lea raised his hand to ask a question. Yen Sid nodded silently, giving Lea permission to talk. "What's so interesting about that? Isn't that a bad thing?" Right next to him, Kairi nodded in agreement.

Yen Sid nodded at Lea's question. He spoke again, "Yes it is. But hear me out." His old face wrinkled as he closed his eyes and opened them again. His mouth was set in a straight line as he put both his hands on his lap. "It has come to my attention that from these attacks, three individuals has been turned into Heartlesses."

"And?" asked Kairi. It was devastating to hear that people had been turned into a Heartless. But Kairi did not see what was so interesting about this information. Unless… Kairi's eyes then widened in realization. "Master Yen Sid! Could it be?"

"Yes Kairi. These three individuals have produced three Nobodies. Human form Nobodies." Lea silently gasped as the information hit him. He crossed his arms across his chest.

"What do you want to do about them?" asked Lea. Human form Nobodies were rare. People with such strong hearts were like a few needles among an ocean of haystack. "Do you want to get rid of them?"

Yen Sid slowly shook his head. His beard swayed along as he moved his head. He spoke, "On the contrary, I want to examine these three. We still don't know if they should be considered a threat. Xehanort may still be looking for a thirteenth vessel. If he gets his hands on these three, it would be a great loss for us."

"So you're going to give us a mission?" asked Lea. He was obviously excited at the thought of a mission. It reminded him of the much simpler days with Roxas. And besides, training in the tower had gotten boring after quite a while. While Kairi was a bit less enthusiastic at the thought of a mission. Yen Sid nodded.

"Riku will be arriving shortly. I want you two to go along with him tomorrow and try to find them. They would most likely be in worlds that lie between the realm of light and dark."

"Like Twilight Town!" said Lea. Yen Sid once again nodded at him.

"Finding these three will be your secondary mission," said Yen Sid.

"What's our primary mission?" asked Kairi.

Lea rubbed his hands in anxiety, eager to finally use his new keyblade. Yen Sid then spoke, "It will be to seal these three worlds' keyholes before the darkness engulf them completely." Kairi could see Lea doing a fist pump from the corner of her eyes.

"Then we just need to wait for Riku, right?" asked Kairi. Yen Sid just nodded as an answer to her question. Kairi looked out the window and gazed into the stars. She was hoping that her other best friend was there with them. Things had been so quiet without him around.

_Sora… Where are you?_

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><p>Sora looked down at the Sleeping Traverse Town from the top of the gizmo shop. He had trained against various Dream Eaters in order to strengthen himself. He had not been ready to become a Master. His Mark of Mastery Exam had proven that. He was too overconfident and naïve. He did not only need to grow in strength, but also in mentality. Especially now that much more things were at stake here.<p>

Sora also swore to himself that he would find them. Those that made him who he was today. The King's letter had mentioned them suffering and in pain for years. But their location was still unknown.

"I am who I am, because of them…" Sora stared at the Wayfinder he held in his hands. Kairi had given it to him right before he and Riku set out for the Exam. He had always sworn that he would return it. Now was no different. He pocketed the Wayfinder and looked up at the moon. Its light shined down on him and the town, giving a clear view of everything.

"Guys… Sorry for the wait. I'm coming home…" Sora said to himself.

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><p>Snow walked under the light drizzle. The moonlight shined down on his large figure. He had woken up in an alley, right next to a garbage dump. He found that he had gotten a new outfit. It was a black hooded coat that reached down to his feet. He was also wearing black trousers, a pair of black leather boots, and a pair of black gloves. He wondered where he got it.<p>

The last thing he remembered were those strange black creatures with antennas attacking Yusnaan. He, as its patron tried to protect the city. But ultimately, his effort failed and he was overwhelmed. Snow expected to feel remorse and anger at his failure to protect the people. But strangely, he felt nothing. It felt like he was missing something important. Something vital… but he could not figure out just what it was.

He continued to walk down the street leading to a wide open area. Not far from the open area was a tall tower with an elegant set of stairs in front of it. It had a huge television screen near the top of the tower, and there was a flipped truck in one of the corner. The entire city looked like it was deserted. Snow looked up at the dark sky.

"Great… I seem to have a knack of not knowing where I am…"

"You're not the only one." Snow turned around to the source of the voice. He saw a man similarly dressed as him. But his trousers were tucked in a pair of black boots. The man had a handsome face, sharp nose, auburn hair and a pair of brilliant green eyes. He also had sideburns on the side of his face. Snow fully turned around and took in the man, contemplating whether he was dangerous or not. If he was, then he hoped he still had his l'Cie powers. He still felt a tingle on his left arm, so he assumed that he still had it.

"And… who are you?" asked Snow. The man just kept walking towards Snow, not showing signs of fear or uneasiness, even though Snow was much taller than him. In fact, he was taking his time. He walked leisurely as if he was walking in a park. He was about to speak when dark clouds appeared around them and black creatures came out of it. Snow recognized them as the things that attacked Yusnaan.

"How about we save the introductions for later?" asked the man. They stood back to back, facing away from each other. Snow could probably use his l'Cie powers, but he wondered just how the man was going to fight. He doesn't seem to possess any kind of weapon. Snow was about to use an ice spell when light flashed from his hands. He closed his eyes to block out the light. When he opened them, he was holding what seemed to be a battle axe, made entirely out of ice.

"Wha-, where did this thing come from?" asked Snow in confusion.

"Beats me," said the red headed man as a weapon also materialized in his hand. Snow took a glance and saw that it was a large black two handed sword. It had some red engravings on the blade that looked like snowflakes. The man was holding it with just one hand, which spoke volumes of his strength alone. By the look on the man's face, Snow assumed that he was also surprised that the weapon just materialized in his hand. But the shocked expression was soon replaced by a dark smirk.

"But I can't complain…" said the man. They then entered their stances and prepared themselves for the creatures to attack. few seconds passed before one of the black creatures lunged at them. Snow took quick care of it with a swing of his large battle axe. The creature froze into ice before shattering against the pavement.

"Oh, wow! I did not expect that!" exclaimed Snow.

The rest of the creatures lunged at the two. The red haired man swung his large sword in an arc, taking out a few more. He ducked as one of them almost got his head. Snow kicked the creature. His brute strength alone had killed it. The red haired man slashed another creature down and he turned around to stab another one of them. There seem to be no end to them.

Snow let out a yell as he swung his axe down. He made sure to mix up some magic in the swing and sure enough, spikes of ice emerged from the ground, stabbing a few of the creatures. The red haired man was having a harder time than the blond. He was getting tired from the creature's onslaught. He was about to slash another one down when he felt a shimmer of energy from his hands. Thinking it was nothing, he killed another one, only to have black flames coming out of his sword. The force and heat of the flame burned down and incinerated most of the creatures in front of him. His mouth was left hanging after that feat.

"Damn, what was that?" asked Snow as he killed another one of the creatures with a slam of his axe.

The auburn haired man looked at his sword curiously. He wasn't expecting to get any powers when he woke up. He looked around and saw that the creatures had stopped spawning. He let out a sigh and spoke to the blond man in front of him.

"So... you were asking for a name?"

Snow nodded. "Yeah. And I'm Snow, by the way," he said as he pointed his thumb to his chest.

"Snow huh? Well... I'm Hans."

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><p><strong>That's quite unexpected, right? And yes, all Yen Sid did was nod all the time. But let's face it… That's all he did in the games. *closes eyes and nods slowly*<strong>

**Be sure to follow this story and tell me what you think of it in a review, kay? Good, bad, needs improvement? Anything will suffice.**


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